


Tales of the Mother

by Etheryel



Category: Horus Heresy - Various Authors, Warhammer - All Media Types, Warhammer 40.000, Warhammer 40k (Novels) - Various Authors
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:54:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23041315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etheryel/pseuds/Etheryel
Summary: Hi!This is a compilation of short stories that take place during the Greate Crusade and the Horus Heresy.They do not follow a specific chronological order, and their protagonists are the Mothers of Legion, OCs created by me whose main original objective was to lead and protect the Astartes Legions in abscence of their Primarchs. Their authority and skills vary according to each Legion traditions.If you want to know more about this AU, follow me on Twitter -> @/MyOwnPhoenix___Thank´s for reading me :)
Relationships: Angron (WH40k)/Original Female Character(s), Fulgrim/Original Female Character(s), Horus/Sanguinius (WH40K), Leman Russ & Original Female Character(s), Magnus (WH40K)/Original Female Character(s), Roboute Guilliman/Original Female Character(s), Rogal Dorn/Original Female Character(s), Sanguinius (WH40k)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15





	1. The Phoenix and the Flame

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> This is a compilation of short stories that take place during the Greate Crusade and the Horus Heresy.  
> They do not follow a specific chronological order, and their protagonists are the Mothers of Legion, OCs created by me whose main original objective was to lead and protect the Astartes Legions in abscence of their Primarchs. Their authority and skills vary according to each Legion traditions.  
> If you want to know more about this AU, follow me on Twitter -> @/MyOwnPhoenix___  
> Thank´s for reading me :)  
> 

M31, Great Crusade

The Emperor's Pride

Shortly after the Genesis of the Phoenix at Chemos

“Due to your last speech, I´m pretty sure every man is actually willing to fight under your command. Thanks to you, Phoenix, we will soon rise from our ashes and become strong enough to regain our lost glory”. Astra looked away and rose from the divan. Fulgrim's eyes locked on her with sudden interest, pausing at the skin that her purple robe could not hide. “If you need to know anything more about the Emperor´s Children, just tell me. I will answer any questions you may have”.

«And satisfy all your needs... » she thought, biting her tongue not to express it out loud. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Isis had told her that Primarchs did not tend to be characterized by a great social and emotional intelligence that´d allow them to socialize with total normality, but Fulgrim had a certain artistic sensibility that gave him a greater interest towards people´s thoughts and desires.

In other words: he wasn't socially inept.

“Are you leaving?” he asked. The mischievous smile upon his face showed that he had understood perfectly the possible double meaning of Astra's words and the reason behind her rosy cheeks. “Don't you want to stay a little longer?”

Astra shook her head.

“I shouldn't” she said. “It wouldn't be appropriate”. 

Fulgrim laughed.

“My apologies!” he exclaimed. His lips were wine-stained, and his white, straight hair fell down on his shoulders like a silvery waterfall. “I had forgotten the vow of chastity every Mother of Legion is obliged to take in order to preserve her inviolable spiritual virginity”.

Astra sighed.

“Chastity? For Terra´s sake! I would have never become a Mother if that was an indispensable requirement…” she said. “I´m just trying to be responsible and fulfill my obligations as an Emperor´s Daughter”.

“And that involves depriving yourself of a nice, harmless conversation with your newly found Primarch?” Fulgrim asked, running an arm across the back of the seat. He brought the cup to his lips and watched her silently as he drank.

“Harmless?” Astra turned and looked around the austere room. A false fireplace bathed the dark carpet in an orange glow. “Strange way of describing what´s nothing more than an attempt to dissect my mind´s deepest secrets as if I were a simple, dispensable lab-rat”.

Fulgrim clicked his lips with disapproval.

“What an ill-advised comparison”.

“Really? Seems pretty appropriate to me”, Astra crossed her arms. “Your concern for my mortal life borders on scientific curiosity”.

“Not at all”, Fulgrim shook his head. “It's purely passionate and artistic”.

“I am not a beautiful painting whose secrets you can easily discover, Phoenix”.

Fulgrim took one last drink and left the cup on a little, glass table. He rested elbows on his knees and gazed at her, smiling again.

“Art has no agency, Dufour. It is nothing more than a beautiful object whose existential sense depends on the ambitions of the artist and the society itself... You, on the other hand, are a charming individual with aspirations, desires and tricky secrets that would take away the sleep of any mortal who dared to ask about them...” he said, slowly rising to his feet. The red silk robe he wore revealed the pale lines of his collarbones. “I need to know what´s hidden behind that beautiful, shining armor of polished ceramite and pure gold-plated details... I need you to show me" he continued. He approached her and began to caress her shoulders, pressing delicately where he felt any knot or discomfort. “I need you to tell me who you really are”.

“I am the Light of Terra" said Astra, and clenched her lips with disgust. “Mother of the Third Legion and Envoy of the Emperor wherever his Pride goes”.

“Where were you born?” Fulgrim lowered hands to her shoulder blades. The robe was so fine that Astra could feel the warm touch of his fingertips.

“In Franc” she muttered. “An ancient region of Terra located at south of Europe”.

“Who was your mother?”

"A very unhappy woman”.

“And your father?”

“A bastard”.

“Direct and sincere”, Fulgrim's fingers fell down his back. Before he could grab her by the waist and pull her towards him, Astra gave him a push. He raised an eyebrow, surprised. “And secretive”.

“You don't seem used to being rejected”.

“No”. Fulgrim made a gesture of denial. “I'm not”.

“Good”. It was strange. Astra wanted to hug him, but the very idea of approaching him on her own free will was alien to her. “I'd better go”.

Fulgrim let out a sigh.

“What are you so afraid of?” he asked.

“Of few things, if I’m honest”.

“Are other people´s opinions one of such?”

“No”. 

“Really?” He took a stride, crossing the distance between them. “You're not a very good liar”. 

“I barely know you, Phoenix”, Astra looked at him. “You can´t pretend…"

“I'm not asking you to tell me everything about your past! It's just... I'm more intrigued by you than I can even explain!”, he said. The impotence that slowly emerged on his face made her feel guilty. “You've changed my whole world”. 

“Father has changed it for you”, she pointed out. “He is the Lord of Humanity, and you, his wise and strong son. I'm just an emissary”.

“No, you're wrong. The Emperor has uncovered every unknown fact about my identity, but you´re the one that has descended from the stars to tell me an epic tale of glory, pain and conquest” Fulgrim stroked fondly her cheek and began to undo her braid, untangling her hair gently. She held back the urge to kiss his knuckles. “Nothing I have accomplished in Chemos can be compared with your own achievements. Venus was the beginning of a glorious era, and Proxima just a minor an obstacle that proved the excellence and flexibility of the Third Legion in its untamed struggle to safeguard the Imperial Truth…

"In another age, the Emperor´s Children would have fallen into oblivion in the twinkling of an eye, for no matter how fierce a man may be, in the darkest moments, there is nothing more comforting and hopeful than a mother's love," he muttered, and her red hair, as intense as fire, covered her shoulders. “You, Astra Dufour, raised our children and encouraged them to be better human beings, giving them a reason to fight for beyond the Imperial Truth”, he began to fiddle with a lock of her mane. “You are the Mother of my Legion and the Flame that preceded my own rebirth... The star that fell from the sky and gave me an existential reason that transcended all that I had known before. Without you, my lady, I wouldn´t know what to do”.

“Beautiful words, but... How can you...?”, Astra cleared her throat, overwhelmed. Fulgrim looked at her as if they had known each other for a long time. “How can you be so sure about that? It's...”

“Intense? Exaggerate? Abstract? Surreal?” Fulgrim ventured, and before she could answer him, he burst out laughing softly. “Yes, yes...! I'm sorry. Maybe I overdid it. I've never been so interested in someone before... You know? It's a strange feeling, truly. Hard to understand and rationalize, but pleasant and refreshing”.

Astra's lips curled into a small smile.

“What an honor," she said. Fulgrim had violet eyes, with bluish glints that almost trickled away in the warm light of the room. In a way, they reminded him of Isis; two icy specks capable of unraveling the dark secrets of anyone who dared to look at them. “Not sure you can actually say the same about me”.

Fulgrim snorted.

“False modesty isn´t your thing, Astra”.

“It has nothing to do with that”, Astra turned on her heels and began to walk around the room, looking at the paintings Fulgrim had brought from Chemos. Everywhere she looked, beautiful landscapes, delicate still-lifes and intriguing beings from ancient mythology splashed the marble walls like a trail of exquisite strokes and diverse colors. “I led the Emperor´s Children as best I could, overcoming every obstacle with all the strength I could muster..." She paused, sliding his index finger along the rough skin of a brown-eyed nymph. She looked innocence, sad. “But my motives were selfish”. 

“Selfish?” Fulgrim raised an eyebrow. “Being a Mother of Legion was a more important duty than your own personal aspirations”.

“Not entirely. At that time, I barely knew my soldiers. To satisfy the Emperor´s will was my principle desire”. Astra felt that she was about to plunge into the abyss, trying to keep balance at the edge of a silent, immeasurable horror. Her voice trembled. “I only wanted to prove that I was no longer the stupid, ignorant bastard the Emperor had picked up in a sordid brothel after the defeat of the Dufour armies on the northeastern European border”.

“I had heard that Mothers came mostly from old dynasties that served or even opposed dad during the Unification of Terra..." Fulgrim muttered, taking a step towards her. “But I never imagined...”

“What? Astra looked over her shoulder. “That one of them was just a filthy, bastard bitch with no sense of honor or duty?” she snapped, bitterly.

Fulgrim didn´t say a word, his lips pursed in a straight line. Astra could not help but feel grateful for that. She didn´t want him to console her again with beautiful, sweet words. All she needed were a few minutes of silence that would allow her to sort out the memories she was about to uncover.

She took a deep breath.

"Once Pandora's box is opened, there is no one to stop its horrors..."

“If you still wish to know who I was before the Emperor changed my life forever, just tell me”, she muttered. An intense musk smell hung in the air.

“Sure”, Fulgrim nodded. His voice was as soft and melodious as fiddle chords. “I just want to meet you, Astra... I won't judge you", he whispered, and she felt an uncontrollable shaking in her legs. She leaned on the wall not to fall. “You can trust me”.

And so, she did.

She told him about the father she had never met and the short affair he had had with a beautiful, innocence maid. She told him how he had dismissed her after Franc´s crusade against the Emperor started, and recalled the cold, dirty suburbs where she had lived ever since. She told him that she had almost forgotten the first thirteen years of her life; as far as she could remember, there had been nothing but hunger, dampness and illnesses.

Once my mother passed away, I found myself completely alone. Before I could realize it, my identity had been diluted in a dark, misleading mix of memories, dreams and emotions... Without her, everything that tied me up with the Dufour disappeared…” She had turned her gaze to the ground, afraid to find in Fulgrim's face that cold, painful disappointment she knew so well. There was no glory or honor in that story, and what she was going to say next would only make things worse.

“The brothel was always full of people", she continued. “Day and night, men and women with strange desires pushed those red doors and demanded what they thought they deserved. War is especially hard for civilians... It has almost nothing to do with what we live every day. For mortals, death is an actual threat, not a possibility”. A crystalline tear crept to her lips. “I do not remember any particular face, for they were hardly distinguishable from each other; most were cruel and sadistic warlords who had nothing to lose and no one to answer to for their crimes”. She wiped her cheeks. The memory of that silver badge embroidered on a black cloth uniform still lingered in her mind. “We were advised to remain silent and please them in all ways, whatever they wished”.

"Women were more sought-after, so Poly, our midwife, was more concerned with protecting them. She took care of those purple, painful bruises, and offered each of them three meals per day to keep them healthy. She also kept a close eye on the drugs they were taking”. Astra smiled bitterly. “That what she had to do, after all. She pretended to care about us, you know? The Good Poly, she used to call herself. A woman who hid her black heart behind a bright smile and a sweet, almost pleasant voice. If I had her in front of me, I'd strangle her to death”.

"By the way... Do you know how hard it is to genetically modify a woman? There's not that much room in the rib cage, and estrogens are a hard to manage drawback. It's a different, more... delicate process. You can't apply the basic guidelines of the Astartes program. If you did, the result would be useless at best. After all, a Mother of Legion is a female archetype. She has to be stronger than any of her men, but she must have the appearance of a human woman too. She needs to be different from her Primarch, even if this isn´t actually a male icon…” She snorted. “Forget it. I´m beating about the bush. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. The point is...”

"From what Malcador told me, I was the third candidate. The Emperor Children´s last chance, maybe. Not know. The two previous women had died trying to pass the tests. Anyway, there's not a single scar left. Everything about me is different, better. New organs, stronger and more resilient muscles, reconstructed genitals thanks to Malcador. I´m sterile, by the way. Thank you! I suppose the Mothers of Legion are maternal only in a kind of a figurative sense... How tall am I? 2 meters, 20? Yes... I think. I'm a little shorter than you. What´s the difference? 20, 30 centimeters? 50? No, that´s too much….” She tilted her face towards the chimney. The holographic image was so well crafted that the flames almost looked real.” Whatever! Who cares? None of this would have been possible if it weren't for the fact that one day, father rose up as the rightful Lord of Mankind, and fire burn that infamous, damn place to the ground.

"To tell you the truth, I've forgotten what I was doing when the fire started. I think I was asleep in my room, trying to heal myself up. I hadn't met any men for days, so I guess I got beaten up by Jaskar, the owner. I don't know. It all happened so fast, and the adrenaline rush barely allowed me to think clearly.

"I remember the window was bricked up with iron plates, so I had to push the door. After several attempts, the rusty hinges were blown off, and I was able to run downstairs. It smelled like tar and burnt flesh. The smoke was so thick and dark that I could barely see, and every twist or sudden movement gave me a lacerating, intense back pain. All around me people were screaming and trying to put out the fire, but it was useless. Those flames could not be extinguished by anything.

"I don't know if I managed to get out of there or if the allied forces got to evacuate the wounded before I fell unconscious, but when I woke up, I was lying on a hospital bed. My body was covered with fresh cuts and burns, and my right eye had begun to ooze a bloody pus. I could barely move and had lost a lot of blood.

"Malcador didn't tell me many details of what happened, and I didn't want to ask him either. It didn't matter, he said. The Emperor had chosen me as his disciple, and that was all I needed to know.

"Yes... Can you believe it? Not me, of course. All my sisters excelled at whatever they set out to do; Julia, Severa, Lyanna, Sherezade, Jaska”, she bit his lower lip. “Smart, literate women who commanded armies and knew about politics. What could I...?” she sobbed. “What could a bastard whore like me had to offer?”

“Astra”, Fulgrim took her gently by the chin. “Look at me”.

“I tried to prove that it wasn't like that anymore.”

“Astra.”

“I tried to prove that I deserved to be a Mother of Legion”.

“Astra.”

“I tried to prove that someone like me could make the Imperial Truth real.”

“Astra!”, Fulgrim leaned forward and forced her to look away from the flames. “Please, stop.”

“I'm sorry”, Astra put her hands on his chest. Her rapid breathing barely permitted her to speak. “I´ve been talking too much”.

“No”, Fulgrim gather his forehead to hers. His eyes were bright, but there was no disappointment or anger in them. “Everything you've just said has only reinforced my initial assumptions”.

“Ho-how did you...?” she stuttered. Astra could feel his breath on her lips. It smelled of citrus and spices. “I don't have a glorious past, nor do I come from a noble family... Why...?”

“Because there is nothing more indicative of a great self-sufficiency than the glory achieved from poor material conditions. You, my dear Flame, have managed to protect the Third Legion from an impending disaster, and that’s all that matters”, Fulgrim spread Astra´s leg slightly and held her up against the wall. The pressure of his fingers on outer thighs shook her. They were so close that Astra could feel his heart beating fast. “What difference does it make where you come from? Is a good family necessarily an indicative condition of an individual's true worth? 

“No”, Astra held his gaze. So far, no one other than Isis had managed to see any further from her dirty and traumatic past; all the mistakes she had made, from the point of view of proud aristocrats like Lyanna Santar or Julia Mina, were the result of a whore´s closed, simple mind. “It´s just a help”. 

“Effectively”, Fulgrim smiled. “Malcador saved you because he saw something in you: a remarkable capacity for self-improvement that would be helpful in the Emperor's great project. After all, aren´t you called the Light of Terra thanks to the beautiful artworks and the wise words you conveyed wherever father went? You are strong, Astra. You have no reason to feel below the others. How else could you have survived such horrors?” he said. Astra took a deep breath. A warm emotion began to work its way into her, propelling her into Fulgrim´s arms. She no longer felt sad. "I'm sorry, Nemesis. I won't be able to keep my promise; he is too close, and I've told him too much... Damn it! He is so... How can I explain it?"she thought, and almost felt guilty. “You know, I've been married many times. Political marriages, of course; high-born women I had to relate to in order to start a political and military negotiation with their families.

"I loved them, to be honest. At least a little. Then, I stopped. They were all unique in their own ways, and though I have forgotten their faces, I still have memories of countless sweet and innocent loves. I survived them all, for one reason or another. It was... sad, I think. I got used to it, though. What the hell else could I do? Love was a weakness I could ill afford those days, for thousands of lives depended on me. I had to keep that humanity in the depths of my soul, however bitter or painful it might be.

"But with you, Light of Terra, I will not sacrifice myself. I will not restrain my emotions. You are my Mother of Legion... Why should I reject you? We share the same goal! We are bonded by the same duty! I have found that piece of art and ingenuity that amazes me more than any other, and I will not let it go. I know it will be beneficial. I know it will help us. Such a union is what the Third Legion needs..." he muttered. Astra pursed her lips slightly, imagining what it would be like kissing him. "Is he asking for my permission? "she wondered. For the first time that night, doubt appeared on Fulgrim's beautiful, apollonian face. “Don't you think so?”

“Where does the phoenix come from if it's not from fire?”, Astra said. Her tone was firm, secure. She brought him closer to her, gently pulling on his robe. “And how could this one survive without something that kept its flames alive?”

“Good point, Flame”, Fulgrim gave her a tender kiss. Astra drowned out a cry of surprise as he pulled her robe aside. She felt the trade of a breeze cooling her naked legs. “May the Emperor forgive me if I ever cause you any harm”. 

Astra bit his lower lip.

“Unless I want to," she said, and the glint in that violet, intense gaze told her she had just made a terrible mistake.

"A delicious, warm mistake…," she thought, as Fulgrim took off her underwear.

“Unless you want to," he repeated, kissing her again.


	2. Julia Mina, the Eye of Terra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okaaaay! <3  
> I don´t know what´s this.  
> I wrote directly in english instead of translating it, so... Hope you like it. Sorry for my mediocre english. 
> 
> Astra -> Mother of the Emperor Children.  
> Isis -> Mother of the Luna Wolves.  
> Lustria -> Mother of the Space Wolves.  
> Julia -> Mother of the Ultramarines.  
> Nemesis -> Mother of the Blood Angels.  
> Sherezade -> Mother of the Thousands Sons.  
> Kiara -> Mother of the World Eaters.  
> Ryannia -> Mother of the World Bearers.  
> Lyanna -> Mother of the Dark Angels.  
> Mirh -> Mother of the White Scars.

GREAT CRUSADE

YEAR 836, M30,

SHORTLY AFTER GUILLIMAN IS FOUND ON MACRAGGE

_“Why did you choose us?”_ asked Julia, her brown eyes pointing at Malcador with a silent, curious twinkle. _“Such an important duty shouldn’t be a mortal´s responsibility”._

 _“Why not?”_ , the Sigilite turned around. A wide, almost sweet smile appeared upon his face. “Think about it again, Julia. Would it be wise to let such a powerful resource without supervision?”

_"The Astartes Legions already have a Primarch”._

Malcador sighed.

 _“A Primarch…”_ he repeated, shaking his head slowly. His eyes closed for a moment. The sunlight fell down around him, casting his hunched shadow on the marble ground. “ _They´re weapons, Julia. Powerful and dangerous weapons. Not leaders, either fathers. They´re meant to fight, not protect. They´re only loyal to themselves”._

 _“_ _What do you mean…_ _?”_ _,_ Julia stepped forward, her words crawling at him carefully. She remembered the bright, pleasant sky of Macragge, and the soft, happy laughs that filled every inch of the main avenue. She frowned. Guilliman was ambitious, but not stupid or vile. _“_ _Roboute would never betray us”_ _._

 _“_ _Not at this moment, at least”_ _,_ Malcador´s lips clenched in a straight line. _“_ _He may control Ultramar, but he doesn´t have many allies. The Emperor would destroy him in the twinkle of an eye, but…_ _What if he had the chance?”_ _,_ his fingers slid down the golden embossments of Terra´s Throne. _“_ _Do you really think the Lord of Ultramar would settle for a single Empi…_ _?”_

 _“_ _As the Mother of the Ultramarines, I must insist”_ _,_ Julia looked at him silently and went upstairs, gently picking up her blue dress. Her footsteps rang across the room, tearing up the silence settled between them. _“_ _He isn´t that kind of a man”_ _._

 _“_ _People aren´t inherently evil or good, Julia. You should already know their acts vary according to their own circumstances…”_ _,_ said Malcador. His gaze got lost in the stained-glass windows that splashed the tough, golden walls. _“_ _If Guilliman acquires enough power, he will be tented to tear us apart and take back his father´s throne. He´s been raised to rule”_ _._

 _“_ _So was I”_ _,_ Julia pointed out. The light illuminated her headband with a silver spark. _“_ _That´s why you chose me”_ _._

Malcador blinked in surprise, as if she had said a lie. For a moment, he looked pretty annoyed.

 _“_ _You_ _´_ _re different, my friend. As a terran, you understand better than him the politic and philosophic implications of the Great Crusade”_ _._

 _“_ _Maybe”_ _,_ she agreed. _“_ _But Guilliman is still human”_ _._

_“That means nothing”._

_“_ _Nothing?”_ Julia shook her head, pouting with disgust. _“_ _Isn´t Humanity´s reunification our great objective?”_

 _“_ _It is, but only on Terra´s terms”_ _,_ Malcador answered. _“_ _Do you really think every single men and women al across this galaxy will politely accept the Emperor´s will?”_

 _“You cannot be serious",_ said Julia. Even if she tried to put her emotions apart and think clearly, rationally, she still wanted to believe in Guilliman; what he had achieved was amazing and noble. She had never seen anything like that before apart from the Empire, and in some aspects, Ultramar was even better. _“Roboute is blood of his own, father. Was created by him to rule and lead the Crusade, and there aren´t too many social and political differences between Ultramar and Terra. They´re interested on being part of the Empire, for hey have assimilated the Imperial Truth without doubt or resistence. Why would he risk his own life intriguing against someone who isn´t an enemy?”_

 _“_ _There_ _´_ _s no need of an enemy, Julia”_ _._ Malcador´s grey eyes fixed on the towering eagle sculpted at the top of the Throne. He sighed again. _“_ _Only the greed for power, and the possibility of victory”_ _._

Julia followed his gaze and remained silent, her mind considering every possibility, for crazy or impossible that seemed to be. She understood —and even agree with — the Sigilite´s concern, but betraying the Empire was a silly, stupid idea in every possible context. A suicide, more like. Even if Guilliman had many allies among his brothers or the most powerful army humanity had ever seen, he would not win.

 _“_ _Not without many costs, at least”_ _,_ she thought. Outside, a cloud crossed the sky and covered the sun, plunging the hall into twilight.

 _“_ _What should I do then?”_ _,_ she muttered, her hands intertwining on the belly. Her skin was soft and delicate as porcelain, unlike her steel-made heart. _“_ _Should I stop him for betraying us?”_

 _“_ _If you were Astra, Isis or Lustria, that´s surely what I´d ask you to do”_ _._ Malcador went downstairs, clutching the cane tightly, as if he was about to fall down. _“_ _You´re different, Julia. You´ll be a Mother of Legion for a while, but your real duty must be another one.”_ He stopped and turned his face towards her, nodding silently. _“_ _Someday, when the circumstances are the appropriate, you´ll hear my call”_ _._

 _“_ _And what shall I do until then?”_ Julia didn´t move, Throne´s shadow touching her own as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. _“_ _Should I stay quiet and submissive while Guilliman gets all the glory? I didn´t lay down my weapons for this”_ _._

Malcador snorted.

 _“_ _Have you ever played chess?”_ _,_ he asked.

 _“_ _Yes”_ _._ Julia nodded. _“_ _It’s a very ancient game. The Emperor introduced it to me the day we met”_ _._

 _“_ _What´s the ultimate movement?”_

 _“_ _King´s murder”_ _._

 _“_ _And what must you do before?”_

 _“_ _Destroy his army”_ _._

 _“_ _Well, that won’t happen unless you have a strategy”_ _._

 _“_ _I should control the pawns who distract my attention from the main objective, dodging the knights that hinder my advance and can leave me exposed to any unpredicted danger”_ _._

 _“_ _Ambiguous but appropriate. I'll give you that”_ _._ Malcador made a gesture of approval. _“_ _And which would be your motivation?”_

 _“_ _Victory, of course”_ _._

 _“_ _That´s your goal, not your reason to fight”_ _._

 _“_ _Power”_ _._ Julia walked up to him, her blonde hair felling down her shoulders as a golden waterfall. _“_ _Politic, economic and personal power; an aim that borns from an egotism built upon the silent suffer of others and thanks to a dynasty that would last a millennium”_ _._

 _“_ _You already have power, Julia. Why would you risk everything you´ve got for just a bit more?”_ _,_ Malcador raised an eyebrow. _“Gold, influence, armies, a right family name, a son or a daughter, even a beloved husband or wife… Everything could turn to dust in just a moment”._ He made a pause and pronounced the next words slowly, stressing out every syllable as if he could taste them. _“_ _What´s your real, inner motivation?”_

 _“Pride, I guess”._ Before he could refute it, Julia snapped with disgust and let out a sight. _“Shame, greed, hate, madness, the aim for a better, fairer world… Who cares, actually? There isn´t a unique answer for such a complex question. You´re just making fun of me, father… And it´s pretty annoying”._

Malcador smiled again.

 _“_ _There´s your answer, woman. Kill the monsters before they are born, and if they manage to survive, treat them with no mercy regardless their motives or feelings, for there is nothing more important than the Great Crusade…”_ he turned on his heels and approached the impressive, shining doors. The two custodians nestled in front of them moved aside to let him out. _“_ _Use Guilliman as much as you want, and when your hold on him and his sons is about to disappear, then you shall come back to me. This Empire…_ _.”_ He gazed at her sideways, his voice becoming a tired whisper. He didn´t look like the young man she had met centuries ago, at the dangerous, technobarbarians steps of Skaand.

He seemed sad, resigned to a difficult and emotionally corrosive path he had assumed without doubt.

She wondered if she´d feel the same one day, for she was still human, and the Emperor´s will was almost a utopia that would hardly come true.

 _“_ _Your intelligence must be used wisely, neither your life should be risked on stupid, secondary battles”_ _._ The doors opened with a gentle snap. _“_ _I need you to sacrifice everything you´ve got for the sake of Humanity.”_

 _"Even my sons, I guess”_ Julia said, even though she already knew the answer. She thought about Kasar and Fabius, her loyal veterans, and took a long, deep breath. _“_ _The Ultramarines are the only children I will ever have. What´s the point of being a Mother of Legion if I can´t protect them?”_

 _“_ _You_ _´_ _re more than a Mother, Julia. That´s why I chose you among your sisters”_ _._ He wheezed. _“_ _Nemesis, Lyanna, Sherezade, Ryannia, Mirh, Kiara…_ _They´re soldiers and leaders, not politicians. It´s not the same thing.”_

 _"But even them would pick the right side regardless their feelings and personal relationships if it was necessary”_ _,_ Julia protested. She would miss the ceramite´s weight on her shoulders. _“_ _After all, we are all the Envoys of Humanity, unbreakable Wardens of Terra"._

 _"You look pretty sure about that”_ _._

_“Shouldn't I?"_

Malcador ignored the question and crossed the threshold. _“Put away your weapons and protect us all, my dear daughter..."._ Julia stood there, quiet, watching how his figure got lost in the distance. He didn´t want her to follow him, and she couldn’t help but feel grateful for that. His words had disturbed her in a way she couldn´t properly explain. She felt guilty, almost a traitor, and pulled tightly the grip of Terra´s Dawn. _“_ _Hope it doesn´t come a day when you need them”_ _._


End file.
